Addresses II

That which Is, always Is. It is now as It always was and always will be — for It there no Past other than the Past Present and no Future other than the Present Future. In It there is no change, there is only becoming. At every instant It is in a different configuration. All Its configurations are Its own potential and possibilities co-existent in It with Itself. For It there is neither a new becoming nor an old becoming. All its becomings are Its own modes of that which Is. Other than It there is no other. It is the Only, the Unique. To It is all Grace and Gratitude.

By contrast with Addresses, where the essays were selected by Bulent Rauf himself, this collection was put together by others after his death. The book includes translations, commentaries on the work of Ibn ‘Arabi, essays on history and cookery, and a fragment of autobiography, and generally reflects his wide range of knowledge and interests.

Despite the variety of themes and subjects, as John Brass writes in the ‘Introduction’, all of the pieces testify to the fact that:

“Union with God [is] the sole purpose for the existence of Man. Those whose aim was the same, found in Bulent Rauf one who was at ease with the most elevated explanations concerning Man’s perfectibility, and who was able to express these ideas at the level of those who brought the questions…”